Nick Redfern's Blog, page 71

Hippies and Bettie Page - and a Door...

The hippie sign on my office door looked like it needed something to go with it. So, what better than a shot of the legendary Bettie Page!

Sam Shearon: Excellent Bigfoot Artwork For Sale

Sam Shearon is a friend of mine, who I've known for about 15 years - having first met him at a UFO gig back in England. 

He's a very skilled artist who, had he been born years earlier, would likely have been illustrating the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe! And probably hanging out with Bram Stoker and Aleister Crowley, in the dark and foggy streets of old London!

Yep, that will give you an idea of the kind of atmospheric artwork Sam produces. And here's some very good news, for fans of Forteana in general and of Bigfoot in particular. 

Sam has produced a fine piece of Bigfoot-themed artwork that you can order from his website. That's the picture above, and below are a couple of other shots Sam sent me.

Here's the link to Sam's website , which will give you all the information you'll need.

MIB: When books become dangerous...

Probably the strangest article I've ever written, split into two parts. And here's how it all starts...


"There’s no doubt that over the years I’ve written some weird articles on equally weird subjects. But, this 2-part one just might be the strangest of all. In the last few years I have seen a trend develop that seems to be increasing. It basically goes as follows. I am getting more and more reports from people who have read my books and who, as a result and in the direct aftermath, were seemingly targeted by the very same supernatural phenomena I was writing about. No, I’m not kidding.

"It all began back in 2010, when I was promoting my second book on the MIB, titled The Real Men in Black . One of the things I dug into in the book was the matter of MIB and telephone interference. We’re talking about strange voices on the line, weird electronic noises, and hang-up calls. Several people contacted me to report they were experiencing the exact same thing – but only after they had read the book."

Here's part-1.

And here's part-2.

The photo at the top of the page relates to one particular piece of weirdness in part-2...





 

Walt Andrus RIP

Well, I heard tonight that one of the last UFO old-timers, Walt Andrus, has died . I met Walt probably seven or eight times between 2009 and 2014. I lecture regularly for the San Antonio, Texas chapter of MUFON and Walt continued to come to the monthly meetings, even in his 90s. He was still bright and alert and I remember him telling me some cool and amusing stories of when he met George Adamski, Truman Bethurum, and a few others from the old days of the Contactees. He also owned a skull of one of those "Texas Chupacabra"/hairless coyotes and donated it to me in 2009. It now sits on one of my shelves. That's it below! RIP, Walt.

(The photo above was taken at the San Antonio, Texas, MUFON gig on June 24, 2014)

Men In Black...In Japan

In a cool, new article at Mysterious Universe , Brent Swancer shares his discoveries on something we don't hear much about: Men in Black reports from Japan.

Here's where you can find Brent's article, and here's how it begins:

"I will be honest, the Men in Black phenomenon is not typically my area of expertise. I am usually more than happy to let my esteemed colleague Nick Redfern handle those bizarre and unsettling accounts, as he has had far more experience and a more formidable record of weird tales concerning these mysterious specters than I. However, Redfern’s recent series of articles on his book and the Men in Black in general, 'My New Book: Men in Black' part 1 and part 2  have really got me to thinking about the fact that this is by no means a isolated phenomenon, and indeed it does spread its tendrils to all corners of the globe. Reading the accounts mentioned in Redfern’s excellent set of articles made me want to share some of the other cases that I have personally acquired over here in Japan that perhaps concern these enigmatic black clad figures. “Want” is perhaps not the best word, rather I felt compelled to share these. It turns out that whoever they are, the Men in Black are not confined to the West, and they have a profile in Asia, just as strange and at times absurd, as they do anywhere else. So without any further ado, here are a few of the more interesting and weird accounts I have accrued over the years concerning possible Men in Black in Japan."

1947: Crashed UFOs That Weren't

"Many people within the UFO field take the view that aliens crashed outside of Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 1947. And maybe they did. Over the years I have tackled the Roswell affair from various perspectives, and, I freely admit, I still don’t know what the real story is. I’ve had people tell me it was aliens. Others have suggested highly classified military experiments of a dark and dubious nature. Some have even gone down the demonic pathway. But, there is something I’m sure of: the case didn’t involved weather-balloons, Mogul balloons or crash-test dummies.

"This brings me to one thing that often gets overlooked by the field of Ufology. Maybe it’s due to ignorance on the part of some. Perhaps others think it’s not worth focusing on. And some may assume it has no relevance to Roswell. What am I talking about? This is what I’m talking about: in the very same time-frame that the military at Roswell said they had got their hands on the remains of a crashed 'flying disc,' people were claiming to have found landed, grounded, or crashed UFOs all across other parts of the United States."

Yep, another article - right here.

Tackling The (Living?) Pterodactyl

I take a look at stories of "living pterodactyls" in a new article that begins with a discussion of a certain piece of controversial footage that surfaced recently.

As I note in the article, I don't think it shows a pterodactyl at all.

But, it has definitely prompted a huge amount of debate.

I've even had people complaining and even upset because I'm skeptical of the film. A clear case of the "I want to believe" factor going into overdrive.

It's well made, and it's cool to see. But, no it's not a pterodactyl!

Here's the link...

And the footage can also be viewed at the link, in case you haven't seen it.

Men In Black - 2-Part Article

There's a new, 2-part article from me on my latest book, Men in Black: Personal Stories and Eerie Adventures .

Part-1 starts as follows...

"Right now, I have a new book out titled Men in Black: Personal Stories & Eerie Adventures. This is my third book on the MIB phenomenon, the previous ones being On the Trail of the Saucer Spies and The Real Men in Black. Like most of my writing on the Men in Black, the new book demonstrates that despite widespread assumptions that the MIB are from 'the government,' they clearly are not.

"Of the thirty-plus chapters in the book, only two are suggestive of a government connection to the MIB controversy. The vast majority of the cases take things down very weird paths. They are paths that lead towards the domains of the occult and the paranormal. And in some cases there is absolutely no UFO link at all. In those cases, we’re seeing nothing less than full-blown supernatural activity."
 

And here's how part-2 begins...


"Part-1 of this article introduced you to my new book, Men in Black: Personal Stories & Eerie Adventures. As I noted in part-1, the vast majority of the cases in the book focus upon matters of a very bizarre nature, and typically of a supernatural or occult nature. I shared with you a few observations and data on the MIB from David Weatherly, Micah Hanks, Jason Offutt, and Brad Steiger. Now, however, it’s time to focus on the witnesses.

"Of the dozens of people who generously shared with me the details of their personal encounters with the MIB, nearly all of them provided data that reinforces my firmly held belief that the Men in Black are nothing to do with the world of government, military, or intelligence agencies. Their origins are much weirder than that."

Chupacabra Road Trip: Article

Over at the website of Llewellyn Publications, you can find a new article from me on the Chupacabra.

Llewellyn have just published (Sept. 8) my book, Chupacabra Road Trip , and so the article coincides with the book release.

The article covers 3 theories for what the Puerto Rican Chupacabra may be, all of which I have heard time and again while visiting the island.

Of course, the mystery still exists and, as I note in my book, there may well be several explanations for what has, collectively, become known as the Chupacabra.

More On The Men In Black

A cool bit of publicity for my new book, Men in Black...